SNL Reviews: Timothee Chalamet/boygenius (11/11/23)

 Cold Open: Republican Debate

Donald Trump interrupts a Republican debate.

• Kenan doesn’t look or sound a thing like Lester Holt. Couldn’t they get Che to do it again like he did in 2016?

• Kenan immediately screws up a line and says “Republincan”. Can you please get off the show now?

• Yay, more typecasting! We get Molly as Chris Christie for no reason!

• Random casting of John Higgins from Please Don’t Destroy as Ron DeSantis.

• No comment on Ego in drag playing Vivek Ramaswamy. 

• The Will Smith slap reference fell completely flat, although I think this is actually a poor recreation of something in the actual debate.

• At least Devon is trying to create a persona for Tim Scott, even though I couldn’t understand any of his lines.

• UGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! Trump is back yet again!! In fact, this is a lame rehash of that one cold open from last season where he interrupted The Last Supper.

• I don’t know why SNL keeps shoving this horrible impression down our throats. I don’t care how spot-on the voice is. The actual material NEVER. FUCKING. CHANGES. Is this what we’re going to have to deal with come election time next season? I’m getting pretty scared.

• TLDR: JAJ’s Trump impression is dead to me at this point and I wish it would stop coming back.

Monologue

Timothee raps about having a baby face with Marcello Hernandez.

• After some boring writers’ strike jokes, I got a little worried when music started up. Then it thankfully gets cut off by Timothee shamelessly self-promoting the new Wonka movie he’s in.

• Never mind, he just goes back to singing after that. But, like his last monologue, I don’t hate this. He’s got a great singing voice, which I suppose is perfect for that Wonka movie.

• Everyone’s “favorite” writer Jimmy Fowlie appears in the audience as the man who lets Timothee take his seat.

• The CGI audience members should have made me laugh, but it didn’t for some reason.

• The huge applause Marcello gets when he shows up is so great to hear. It feels like he’s finally found his place on the show!

• Sadly, this is then followed by the two of them rapping. While I didn’t completely hate this monologue, I think it could have been a lot shorter.

Sketch: 50 Years of Hip-Hop

Mary J. Blige, Rick Rubin, Cornel West, and SmokeCheddaDaAssGetta are the guests on this panel at the Hip-Hop Museum.

• Ugh, this sketch from Timothee’s last episode becomes recurring. I did not care at all for that one, but maybe this will be better because Pete isn’t there.

• I still hate that Ego’s name is “Nunya Bizness”.

• Great to see Punkie get airtime in an episode that’s not hosted by a black person. I can’t judge the accuracy of her Mary J. Blige impression because I’m not that familiar.

• JAJ looks priceless as Rick Rubin.

• Kenan looks and sounds nothing like that Communist Cornel West. Apparently he’s played him before, but not since 2012.

• Timothee reprises his role from the previous installment of this sketch.

• “Mukbang” is a phrase that I never wanted to hear on this show.

• So far, I’m finding this even worse than the first one.

• JAJ’s wig is coming off.

• I kind of like the joke where Timothee is only able to recognize Cornel West because he was in The Matrix Revolutions.

• Overall, an unnecessary sequel to a sketch that I didn’t even like the first time around.

Film: The Woman In Me Auditions

Various celebrities audition to read The Woman In Me audiobook.

• Been a while since we had a good old impression showcase like this.

• I am not pleased to see Chloe as Britney again. She also brings back her baffling impression of tonight’s host.

• Mikey doesn’t really sound like Steve-O, but I still laughed at his scene.

• Ugh, Sarah in drag yet again!!! Her John Mulaney impression is way too high-pitched.

• Molly doesn’t even get any lines as Kevin James, seemingly having only been cast as him for size reasons. And also because SNL wanted to do a "funny" meme reference!

• Chloe’s Natasha Lyonne impression is admittedly not bad.

• It figures that Bowen would be cast as Fred Schneider. He actually does a pretty good job with the voice.

• Ego’s Jada Pinkett Smith is back, and the joke is that she’s reading from her book and not Britney’s. 

• Kenan as Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s joke is that he reads the book in Ebonics. Get it?!? Because he’s black!!!

• JAJ’s Werner Herzog is unsurprisingly the standout here.

• The other Chloe gets to play Dame Maggie Smith, and her voice is spot on! Much better than any of Fineman’s.

• Michael Longfellow sadly only gets about four seconds as Bill Hader, but I liked what I heard.

• *sigh* Another disappointing audition showcase. When was the last one that was actually good? The Jurassic Park auditions from Season 43?

Sketch: Gym Call

A woman calls up the gym where she left her bags, but the employees are less than helpful.

• Heidi finally gets a character that isn’t annoying.

• A mild chuckle from the initial sight of Mikey with fake muscular arms.

• The only joke in this sketch is “haha buff guys are stupid”. Mikey and Timothee try their best, but this was a chore for me to sit through.

Film: Giant Horse

A man reconnects with his now giant pet horse.

• Amazing special effects in this sketch. I would really like to see a VFX breakdown! Oh wait, I forgot they don’t do that anymore because of COVID!

• Bowen suddenly gets stepped on by a giant hoof. That’s right, this is a sequel to the Tiny Horse film from Timothee’s first episode, except now, the horse is GIANT!!!

• The stop-motion on the horse is still pretty good, but…something feels kind of wrong about this sequel. None of the heart from the first one is there, and instead we get lines about the horse wanting to destroy all humans.

• It’s like they came up with an unrelated sci-fi sketch, then some idiot decided to make this a sequel to Tiny Horse. This just feels like two different sketches stitched together.

• JAJ is pretty good as the villain.

• Not even the ending where the horse turns tiny again made me happy. I just can’t believe they would ruin Tiny Horse like that. To quote my mom when this ended, “That was stupid.”

Musical Performance: “Not Strong Enough”

Weekend Update (featuring Crystal)

• Now that they’re showing a picture of Vivek Ramaswamy, I can see how little Ego resembles him, which just makes me wish that they had an actual Indian on the show.

• Lame joke about a Bible bursting into flames when Trump touched it. Get it? Because he’s the Devil…or something.

• Another lame joke about women from Che.

• Heidi returns as that busy co-worker character from last season. Unsurprisingly, this was just as unfunny as her first appearance.

• I’m surprised at how short these last few Updates have been.

Sketch: Sleep Study

A lady’s sleep paralysis demon is Troye Sivan.

• Sarah, describing what her demon looks like: “It’s just…a guy, but, like…a gay guy?”

• Who is said gay guy? Why, it’s Australian heartthrob Troye Sivan…for some reason. Does Sarah just think he’s really hot and wanted to put him in a sketch?

• I sure love how Sarah’s explaining everything that’s happening! (/sarcasm)

• What is the deal with Timothee breaking the fourth wall to admit that he can’t do an Australian accent?

• Boy, this sketch is pure comedy cancer.

• Sarah: “More gay guys???? Hubba-hubba!”

• And now there’s more Sivans?!? Please end this already!

Please Don’t Destroy: Jumper

The guys save a man from jumping to his death.

• Another one? At least this one is taking place outside for a change.

• The “music” that Timothee plays for the guys is pretty funny.

• I like how his band’s name is spelled the same as “Hamas”.

• Great how the only words in his breakup song are “I cheated!”

• Amazing ending where Timothee finally jumps to his death after realizing that the guys he’s been talking to are Please Don’t Destroy.

• Overall, this still dragged at several points, but the ending alone was way better than anything in the last PDD film.

Musical Performance: “Satanist”

Sketch: Little Orphan Cassidy

An orphan sings to the moon about not being adopted.

• “Mrs. Pippinstuffs”? Who comes up with this shit? At least Molly finally gets a role that isn’t a fat man.

• Good to see Chloe Troast get a lead role.

• I got a genuine laugh when Troast started singing in a bizarre deep voice.

• Wow, I’m impressed at how great her singing voice is. Moon-Timothee also has some great lines in response to her.

• Finally, a sketch I can say that I enjoyed.

Sketch: Calm Sleep Story

Timothee’s Calm app recording session doesn’t go as planned.

• Figures that Andrew’s first appearance in this episode is in the last sketch.

• How many times are they going to reuse this same recording studio set?

• Hmm, Timothee’s playing himself here.

• Andrew’s thumbs-up gesture is pretty funny. He’s always pretty good with small details like that.

• Not caring for the poopy jokes, but Timothee’s giving it his all.

• Aaaaaand…we end on a horrid note. Alec fucking Baldwin makes a completely pointless cameo for the first time since 2020. UGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! I thought we were safe from ever seeing him on this show again! Did they let him back on if he promised not to shoot anybody?

Final thoughts: While Timothee was pretty good as a host, this episode was way worse than his previous episode. I can’t believe people actually think this one is better! 

Best sketches: Jumper, Little Orphan Cassidy

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Gym Call, Weekend Update, Sleep Demon

Next review: Jason Momoa/Tate McRae

SNL Reviews: Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters (10/28/23)

 Cold Open: Biden Halloween

President Biden delivers a special Halloween message, and is visited by the Spirit of Halloween.

• What the hell?!?? What’s Mikey doing as Biden?

• Yep, that’s right. Once again, we have a brand new Biden impersonator. JAJ’s wasn’t perfect, but at least it was a step up from Fire Marshal Biden and Alex Moffat. I’ve heard a theory that they recast him because they need James to play Trump in the upcoming 2024 election sketches. Hopefully Trump will be kicked out by then so that doesn’t have to happen.

• After that initial shock wears off, we get some tired jokes about how old Biden is.

• I can see what Mikey’s trying to go for with the voice, but it just sounds awkward and whispery.

• Ugh at “Boo Back Boo-er”.

• Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker are wasted with brief appearances as Mike Johnson and his black son. Don’t worry, they tell us who they are and explain all the jokes so we don’t have to do any thinking.

• Then, out of nowhere, Christopher Walken makes his triumphant return!!! Fuck yeah!!!!!

• While it’s obvious that he’s gotten up in years, he’s still extremely funny. I love his explanation that he came out of the toilet.

• It’s hard for me to choose a favorite Walken line, so I’ll just put this one here: “After all, you can’t spell Halloween without ‘hello’!”

• The first half of this where it was just Biden was horrible, but it got way better when Walken showed up.

Monologue

Nate talks about watching his dad perform at country fairs and his mom going to the wrong house to pick up his sister.

•  I still have no idea who this guy is even after seeing his episode for the first time.

• There’s some nice relatable material here about watching his magician father perform at the fair, and all of the crazy things he saw there.

• I don’t really have a lot to say here, but I like how quiet this guy is compared to other stand-ups. He’s not shouting in your face like Sam Kinison or making crass vagina jokes like Amy Schumer, he’s just normal.

Sketch: Chef Showdown

Two chefs face off to see who can cook the best soul food.

• Finally a TV show sketch where the people have normal names!

• An initial laugh from the sloppily made food on Plate 2.

• Nice twist where it turns out that the white chef (played by Nate) wasn’t the one who cooked the disgusting plate, and the judges frantically trying to figure how he did so good.

• Even Kenan is doing pretty decent here. 

• Random appearance from Padma Lakshmi, whoever that is.

• I’m surprised at how much I liked this sketch this time around. 

Film: A Stab At Love

Hallmark presents a brand new horror film.

• As I said in my review of that awful Hallmark game show sketch in Season 45, I find parodies of Hallmark movies to be kind of pointless, as they are already parodies of themselves.

• I don’t quite get the joke with the actors’ names being “almost human”, such as “Bren Cloebog”. Don’t most Hallmark movies have at least one big name in them so people will watch?

• I like how the announcer is JAJ instead of Steve Higgins as usual.

• Punkie at least has a great reaction to seeing Nate propose to Chloe with a dead person’s hand.

• Overall, I still didn’t really care for this, but I found a few positives this time around.

Sketch: Washington’s Dream

George Washington tells his troops about his dream for the country.

• Why is Bowen one of the soldiers? Pretty sure Washington didn’t have any Asians in his outfit back then. Why couldn’t this be Dismukes or Longfellow? Oh wait, that would mean giving them actual screentime.

• Nate is pretty good as George Washington.

• Despite my complaints about Bowen being in this sketch, he’s actually not doing too bad. He’s thankfully reined in his gay shtick here.

• The running bit with Kenan’s character getting ignored when he asks about slavery was a little too predictable.

• This sketch seems to be really popular for some reason, but I’m afraid I don’t quite get it. I don’t hate it or anything, it’s just not something I personally care for.

Film: Lake Beach

A country music trio sings about their favorite warm weather activity.

• Ah, now here’s a sketch that I actually do remember liking!

• This idea apparently came from James’ stand-up act.

• A spot on parody of “bro country” music. So many great details here! And that song is so damn catchy!

• Great to see Andrew get a big role here. I love the cheesy grin he gives the camera as he takes a piss in the woods.

• Dave Grohl is amazing as that dirtbag uncle nobody likes.

• Funny twist at the end where Grohl’s character turns out to be a pastor.

Sketch: Trick-Or-Treat with Fran Drescher

The star of TV’s The Nanny shows some SAG-approved Halloween costumes.

• Sarah doesn’t really sound a whole lot like Fran Drescher, or nail the laugh, but she’s not really an impressionist, so I’ll let it slide. Besides, she does capture the most important aspect of Fran Drescher: the fact that she’s extremely annoying.

• A nice detail with the text that introduces Fran being the same font as The Nanny’s intro sequence.

• I like the look on the little girl’s face after Fran calls her an “adorable scab”.

• I’m not quite sure what this sketch is supposed to be making fun of. Was there really a demand from the SAG that people stop wearing copyrighted character costumes?

• I did get a laugh from the kid dressed as Hoda Kotb, complete with wine. 

• Another laugh from Fran saying that Nate is dressed as a pervert from To Catch a Predator.

• That kid trying to attempt an Italian accent was pretty charming.

• The little girl dressed as The Nanny does a way better laugh than Sarah.

• Overall, this was a very confusing attempt at satire, and I don’t know what Sarah was trying to do, but I still got enough laughs.

Musical Performance: “Rescued”

• Walken introduces this one.

Weekend Update (featuring J.J. Gordon)

• They’re still making jokes about Eric Trump being a retard.

• The online version removes “Down With The Sickness” from a clip of two mice fighting.

• I noticed someone in the audience going “Whoo!” when Colin tells his joke about Mike Pence dropping out of the presidential race. 

• Sarah appears in drag yet again as Colin’s “agent” J.J. Gordon, a piece that was cut from last week’s show. I sense some more Colin roasting…

• I really hate to say it, but I think Sarah roasting Colin is finally starting to get old for me. Between the Drescher thing earlier and now this, Sarah hasn’t been doing so good lately.

• Can Michael Che go an entire Update without stumbling or laughing at his jokes?

• I laughed at the Hitler kiss-cam joke.

• Horrid “joke” about Colin running over the world’s oldest dog.

• At least we end on a great joke about New Jersey residents being filthy.

• A surprisingly short Update.

Sketch: Airplane

People on an airplane get into an argument.

• Even while she’s supposed to be going into labor, Chloe Fineman can’t stop making her annoying mugging faces.

• This is another sketch that I find pretty boring, despite a lot of other fans liking it. I do like that it features a lot of the underused cast members, though.

• I did laugh at Mikey the pilot insulting Nate for assuming that nobody’s flying the plane.

• Pretty great cameo from Grohl at the end.

Musical Performance: “The Glass”

Please Don’t Destroy: Dawg Food

The guys try a new meal prep service.

• Are these guys going to appear in every single episode now?

• The face on the bag of dog food looks pretty familiar, but I can’t place him.

• So, yeah…we get a sketch where the only joke is that they’re eating dog food. This doesn’t really feel like something Please Don’t Destroy would do. The thing that attracted me to these guys was the fact that they didn’t really do grossout humor, but look what they’re doing now! 

• I did laugh at the ending where John randomly dies.

• As much as I hate to say this, I think this is the first Please Don’t Destroy sketch that I would have to call terrible.

Note: A dedication to Matthew Perry appears before the goodnights.

Final thoughts: This was an okay episode. The pre-Update half had some great stuff in it, but I think it kind of fell off starting with that Fran Drescher routine. Nate Bargatze was a surprisingly good host for somebody that hasn’t been on before. I’d love to see him come back.

Best sketches: Christopher Walken’s cameo, Monologue, Chef Showdown, Lake Beach

Worst sketches: Sarah’s commentary, Dawg Food

Next review: Timothee Chalamet/boygenius

SNL Reviews: Bad Bunny (10/21/23)

 Cold Open

Jim Jordan loses the House Vote again and consults with his advisors.

• After the nice reprieve we got last time, we’re back to more tone-deaf political “satire”.

• I have no idea what Jim Jordan sounds like, but I’m sure Mikey isn’t even close.

• UGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!! It’s Bowen as George Santos yet again!!! And he’s carrying a baby…for some reason.

• Why does Bowen always have to talk so damn slow? Does he think that he’ll get more laughs that way? Well, guess what, it’s annoying as fuck!

• No idea what to think about Lauren Boebert almost getting groped at a movie theater. Never thought I’d have to type that sentence, but that’s life.

• *groan* Trump is back for the 2,366th time. 

• His scene is just as unfunny as every other appearance by this impression, except for the fun twist where he cuts off Mikey from saying the intro line. 

Monologue

Bad Bunny speaks in English and Spanish and gets Pedro Pascal to translate for him.

• Not a big fan of the Sabado Gigante “mixup” at the beginning.

• Why does the audience have to cheer every single time he speaks? He’s not that sexy, ladies.

• I did like the “[SPEAKS IN NON-ENGLISH]” subtitle.

• Random appearance from Pedro Pascal.

• I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about Bad Bunny here that seems kind of…phony. Like he’s trying to put on a fake “nice guy” image.

Sketch: Rap Battle

Two rappers battle at a club.

• What is with Punkie wearing her hood up all the time lately? I’m not complaining, it’s just something weird I noticed.

• I love Mikey’s rapper name: “Walter White Boy”

• So they’re not going to let Bad Bunny rap? Why does Mikey get all of it to himself?

• Ugh, these incest jokes are hideous.

• What a horrible sketch. It reminds me of that awful sketch with the rappers dancing to game show themes from the Awkwafina episode.

Film: La Era del Descrubimento (The Age of Discovery)

Explorers show the king and prince some riches from their latest voyage.

• UGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! Fred fucking Armisen is back for his 8,936,422nd cameo.

• I like how this is entirely in Spanish.

• That turkey’s facial expression matches how I feel when I watch Weekend Update.

• We get our obligatory ball joke when the king claims that the turkey has testicles on his chin.

• Marcello as the prince says “Ay dios mio!” at one point. Couldn’t they let Fred say that for old times’ sake?

• Now we get a poop joke? Did a five-year old write this part?

• I definitely didn’t need to see him put poop in his mouth.

• This sketch is kind of hard for me to rate. On one hand, I like how ambitious it is for being entirely in Spanish. On the other hand, all of the juvenile humor brings it down a bit.

Sketch: Telenovela

An actress playing a maid keeps screwing things up.

• Uh-oh, now we have a Jimmy Fowlie sketch.

• Another sketch where most of the dialogue is in Spanish? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I wish this sketch and the previous one were spaced out a bit more.

• I’m glad Marcello gets to shine in this episode! He and Bad Bunny make a great duo!

• Thankfully, Punkie is here to save the day with her amusing broken Spanish.

• Despite not being the focus of this sketch, Bowen is still queering it up.

• Is it just me, or are they on the same set as The Californians? Not exactly a sketch I want to be reminded of.

• Yep, this is definitely a Jimmy Fowlie sketch. The same joke repeated over and over again! Punkie is trying her best, though.

• This is more of a nitpick, but why does a Spanish soap opera have an English speaking director?

• The twist where Punkie’s character is revealed to be named “Latina Jefferson” is genuinely amusing.

• Punkie: “Did he just call me a negro?!?” LOL!!!!

• Mick Jagger makes a random cameo. Why? I don’t know, but he’s got a fake mustache, so that makes it okay with me.

• For a Jimmy Fowlie sketch, this surprisingly wasn’t too awful. 

Please Don’t Destroy: Bad Bunny Is Shrek

The guys help Bad Bunny with his idea for a script.

• An initial laugh from Bad Bunny walking in dressed like Shrek.

• Bad Bunny: “Is Donkey coming?”

• I love the awkward silence after Ben suggests that Bad Bunny play Puss in Boots.

• John’s Michael Jackson impression is great! If only he was on the show when the trial was going on, then we wouldn’t have been stuck with Amy Poehler’s awkward attempt at playing him.

• The scene where they all read Bad Bunny’s script together is the most amazing thing I have ever seen, complete with terrible CGI animations of the characters.

• Oh, by the way, you wanna know who owns Shrek? NBCUniversal! Some good old fashioned corporate synergy!!!

Musical Performance: “Un Preview”

• Ummm, why is Lady Gaga introducing this song? She doesn’t appear anywhere else in the episode, so I have no idea what she’s doing here.

Weekend Update (featuring Jada Pinkett Smith)

• Wow, some Biden jokes that don’t revolve around his age!

• This probably goes without saying, but I am extremely sick of the “seen here” jokes.

• Ego appears as Jada Pinkett Smith, as this was right after her revelation that she and Will had been divorced for a few years all along.

• I don’t really have a lot to say about this commentary (once you’ve seen one Ego commentary, you’ve seen them all), so let me share this quote on the YouTube upload that I think sums it up: “There wasn’t a single joke this entire sketch. It was just…a sad series of facts.” And you know what? He’s right!

• I chuckled at the disgusting ice cream flavors/pregnancy joke.

• I also really liked the punchline to the story about a man’s glasses getting shot off.

• This is the second Update in a row that was surprisingly tolerable. It helps that it was extremely short.

Sketch: Protective Mom

Luís gets embarrassed by his mother again, this time with help from his aunt.

• I did not need to see Bad Bunny in drag.

• So, yeah, this is a sequel to the sketch from Pedro Pascal’s episode where he dressed like an old lady. 

• Speaking of Pedro, there he is, so now we’ve got TWO guys in drag!

• Chloe Troast replaces Chloe Fineman as Marcello’s girlfriend in this one. I guess he broke up with the girl from the previous sketch?

• Pedro randomly throwing “Trader Joe’s” into one Spanish sentence was pretty funny.

• I like how the girlfriend character has more to do in this one instead of just standing off to the side.

• Pedro, talking about a septum piercing: “I have a piercing, too, ‘cept I’m putting it in my ear where it belongs!”

• Call me crazy, but I think this was funnier than the last time they did this!

Film: The Right Track

Wacky shenanigans occur on the subway.

• JAJ has had a pretty quiet episode so far.

• Now this suddenly turns into a variation of the Waffle House routine from last season, except now it’s on a subway.

• It was cathartic seeing Kenan getting beat up for being so annoying. 

• Some amusement from everyone trying to kill a rat. 

• The very ending where Kenan creepily says hello to JAJ was a great way to wrap it up.

• This was good, but I prefer the Waffle House version. Even though I’m still not going to eat at a house made of waffles. BEEEEEEF JELLLY!!!

Musical Performance: “Monaco”

Sketch: Convent Meeting

A group of nuns gathers to discuss an infiltrator among them.

• I got an unintentional laugh from the choral music that introduces this sketch, as it is the same music that Adult Swim used to use for their “Adult Swim Is Your Friend” bumper from 2004-2010.

• Bad Bunny in drag again? Didn’t we just have that?

• Like I said last season, nun jokes kind of bum me out, especially when nuns are portrayed as sex-obsessed creeps.

• And now Jagger’s back? I knew there was going to be a twist where there was another man in drag at the convent, but it was worth it to see Jagger dressed as a nun.

• No comment on the awful ending where this turns out to be a trailer for “Sister Act 3”, or the “second coming” pun.

Sketch: Enrique’s Daughter

The CEO of Burt’s Bees tells his employees that the company has been acquired.

• Yay! More product placement!

• I kind of laughed at Mikey shutting down the discussion of him possibly getting laid off.

• This sketch is really slow, but it’s not that bad. Something about Bad Bunny’s performance is clicking with me for some reason.

• Even Kenan isn’t doing too badly in this sketch. This is one of the best nights he’s had in a while.

• One person who is annoying me here is Bowen. Even when he isn’t the focus, he still feels the need to overact and be gay.

• I like Mikey’s revelation that the company makes its chapstick by grinding up bees.

• I’m surprised at how much I liked this, especially the ending where Bad Bunny interrupts everybody else standing up for him by revealing that his son is having a baby.

Final thoughts: This was much better than the last episode. The writers seem to have gotten back into the groove after the strike. Bad Bunny kind of annoyed me at first, but he got better as we went along. Even Kenan managed not to annoy me, which is amazing at this point of his tenure.

Best sketches: The Age of Discovery, Bad Bunny Is Shrek, Protective Mom, Enrique’s Daughter

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Rap Battle, Convent Meeting

Next review: Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters

SNL Reviews: Pete Davidson/Ice Spice (10/14/23)

 Now we come to Season 49! I can’t believe I’ve been reviewing this show for seven seasons now!

Cold Open

Pete takes a moment to talk about the tragedies going on in Israel.

• Color me surprised, this is the best cold open we’ve had since…I don’t know, the last time we did something like this. As someone who doesn’t really care for Pete Davidson, I think he actually came off pretty good here. 

• There’s really not too much I can say about this one, but I’m glad that none of my three predictions on what the cold open would be about came true. In case you’re curious, they were (1) some kind of tongue-in-cheek look at the writer’s strike, (2) Donald Trump, or (3) Donald Trump somehow being responsible for the writer’s strike.

Note: The intro is the same as last season, but we have a new cast member! Chloe Troast has joined…and I’ve never heard of her. Also, James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman have been promoted.

Monologue

Pete talks about Game of Thrones, Staten Island, and the first time he did stand-up.

• Pete was supposed to host last season before the strike happened. I think Jennifer Coolidge was also supposed to appear, and if that’s the case, thank goodness her episode got cancelled, because I wouldn’t have been able to take a sketch where she interacts with Chloe Fineman’s impression of her.

• I was expecting a serious monologue from Pete after what happened in the cold open, but instead I was greeted with incest jokes. Incest is soooo funny, right guys?!??

• He didn’t waste any time in getting back to his overused Staten Island jokes. Oh, and we get a pedophile priest joke too! 

Sketch: NFL on FOX

The FOX crew is distracted by news of Taylor Swift.

• Ugh, I see Kenan is still on the show. 

• Devon’s goofy smile as Michael Strahan made me chuckle.

• Molly is still being typecast as fat men, unfortunately.

• Are you kidding me? The first sketch of the season, and it’s about Taylor Swift and her stupid relationship with Travis Kelce, which is a story that we were all sick of hearing about in the week leading up to this episode.

• Adding further fuel to my hatred of this sketch is the fact that I don’t give two shits about football.

• Pete’s character added absolutely nothing to this.

• Oh, and just in case we didn’t get it, they have Kelce himself show up at the end!!!! 

Film: I’m Just Pete

Pete sings about being himself.

• Ugh, we now get the return of those awful Pete Davidson raps that I haven’t missed.

• Even worse, this is a parody of that stupid overrated Barbie movie that everyone went crazy about during the summer. SNL, behind the times yet again!!!

• The thing I hate the most about this awful song is the way it treats his mental issues as just a big ol’ goof. Haha, isn’t bipolar disorder funny? Laugh, you sheeple!!!

Sketch: Wired Autocomplete Interview

The stars of a new show answer the most popular questions about themselves.

• How many times has Ego said “bitch” at this point? Frankly, it’s getting old.

• Unfortunately, the main joke of this sketch is Pete being humiliated for pooping his pants. That’s it.

• I saw the “twist” where the other characters’ questions bring it up coming from a mile away.

• No comment on the black box recording of Pete’s accident.

Sketch: Secretary 

A lawyer takes on a new client with the help of his secretary.

• Bowen looks even gayer with a mustache on.

• Ugh, looks like we have our latest WACKY Heidi character! It should come as no surprise that Jimmy Fowlie and his new partner in crime Ceara O’Sullivan are responsible for this shit.

• JAJ is wasted with about fifteen seconds of screentime in this sketch.

• I do have to give major props to Heidi for making her pratfall through the desk look real.

Please Don’t Destroy: The Original Princes of Comedy

The guys look back on their past as child standup comedians.

• Our first Please Don’t Destroy sketch of the season. Hopefully it’s better than the disappointing one they ended Season 48 with.

• I like the footage of teenage Pete doing standup.

• We suddenly get a twist where we see what the three guys were like when they were kids.

• This setting immediately makes me think of the classic Kings of Catchphrase Comedy sketches (“BEEEEEEF JELLY!”).

• The stock footage of a rowdy black audience laughing is hilarious, as is the whole concept of young children performing Def Jam style comedy.

• All of the child actors match their grown-up counterparts to a tee, especially the one who plays Ben “Smoke Dog” Marshall.

• Random John Mulaney cameo for the first time since Season 47. I like how the black audience starts to leave as soon as he’s about to do an Ice-T impression.

Musical Performance: “In Ma Hood”

Weekend Update (featuring Christopher Columbus and Deion Sanders)

• We’re still getting a bunch of awful George Santos jokes.

• Bowen’s latest annoying commentary is as Christopher Columbus, which means we get yet another example of SNL’s recent obsession with cartoony Italian accents.

• Why isn’t Marcello playing Columbus? Oh wait, that would actually make sense, and we can’t have that, so let’s give him to the most annoying guy on the show!

• I did get a genuine laugh from the joke about Russell Brand.

• Another surprisingly good joke that Che gives Jost to read about black kids missing their fathers.

• Kenan’s playing yet another celebrity he shouldn’t be. This time it’s Deion Sanders. I did laugh at his introductory line, saying how much he liked the aforementioned black father joke.

• Most of this commentary is exactly what you’d expect from modern-day Kenan. There’s a gag that goes on for way too long where he reacts to all the college teams that are undefeated.

• A huge laugh at the clip of Sanders “rapping” from when he was a host in 1995 (one of the worst episodes ever).

• Surprisingly, this Update wasn’t as awful as I was fearing. There were barely any Trump jokes, and I laughed a worryingly high number of times.

Sketch: Spaceship

Two former co-workers reconnect while their spaceship is under attack.

• Michael Longfellow still exists!!!! And he has a pretty meaty role in this sketch as the captain!

• UGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!! Here we have yet ANOTHER campy gay stereotype character courtesy of Bowen Yang! This sketch was looking promising until he showed up. Why’d he have to ruin it?!??

• The writer’s guide on Reddit that I use doesn’t say who wrote this, but I’m fairly sure this is another Jimmy Fowlie “masterpiece”, perhaps in collaboration with Bowen.

• I think it was Stooge who pointed out that handlebar mustaches are automatically funny. Well, I’d like to point out that I think all mustaches are automatically funny, especially the type that Pete’s wearing here which makes him look like a child predator.

• Geez, this is still going on…

• At least this sketch ends with Bowen getting sucked into space.

Musical Performance: “Pretty Girl”

• UGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Taylor Swift is there to introduce this song! “Hey guys, are we cool? We actually got Travis and Taylor to appear in our show!!!!” Gag me with a fucking spoon.

Sketch: Beach Day

A day at the beach doesn’t go as planned.

• Where the fuck has Sarah been this entire episode? This is only the first time she’s appeared.

• Pete has some very distracting tattoos on his legs.

• Holy crap, Andrew with a lead role!

• Andrew and Pete have great chemistry in this sketch. I wish we could have seen more of this while Pete was still on the show.

• The ending is extremely abrupt.

Sketch: Glamgina

A gynecologist tries a brand new product.

• Sorry, but I don’t buy Pete Davidson as a doctor.

• Suddenly, this turns into a commercial for vagina cream. Are the ESPN Classic guys ghostwriting for the show now?

• This has to be a sketch that Sarah wrote. Only she would come up with something like this.

• In a perfect summary of how SNL treats its newer cast members, Chloe Troast literally comes out of a closet in this sketch.

• As much as I like Sarah’s sketches, I think this needed a little more of a hook than just repeating the word “vagina” over and over again.

Sketch: Roadhouse Bar

Two men show off their extravagant new lifestyles at a bar.

• The lack of Kenan in this episode pleases me. We haven’t seen him since that Deion Sanders commentary on Update, and I think he was only in one other sketch before that.

• Andrew looks hilarious as a cowboy.

• Sweet, another sketch where Andrew and Pete interact with each other!

• I like the randomness of Andrew and Pete’s characters selling foot porn of themselves online.

• Funny twist where Pete reveals that the factory he used to work at is actually a Cheesecake Factory.

• This is a really, really weird sketch, but it actually turned out to be the best part of this entire episode!

Final thoughts: I honestly don’t know what to say about this episode. One part of me likes all the focus on newer cast members, but I also hate the copy-paste nature of a lot of the sketches. There was some absolutely atrocious material in here (looking at you, Bowen). As someone who doesn’t really like Pete Davidson, I don’t think he did too bad as a host. In fact, I might like him better as a host! The fact that we didn’t get a single mention of his love of weed is amazing!

Best sketches: Cold Open, The Original Princes of Comedy, Roadhouse Bar

Worst sketches: Wired Autocomplete Interview, Spaceship

Next review: Bad Bunny. Now that’ll be an interesting episode to talk about.

Season 48 overview

While we’ll never really know exactly what Season 48’s final plan was, the episodes that did air do not paint a bright picture of the future. Despite all of the fresh blood being hired, the show was way more focused on pushing the same few veterans on us. Let’s take a look and see how each cast member fared…

Repertory Players

Mikey Day: Mikey had one of his best seasons in quite a while…when they bothered using him, that is. He got a lot of airtime in the first few shows, but then it was up and down for him. A lot of other fans have theorized that this might be his last season, and given the lack of focus he had in several episodes, I’m beginning to see what they mean. Still, the good stuff he did this season (the Black Heaven sketch with Chappelle and that film with Jake from State Farm) is more than enough to call this a strong season for him. And, hey, he had a lot less explaining roles this year!

Andrew Dismukes: Despite being promoted to a repertory player, Dismukes’ airtime is just as bad as ever, being forced to play second fiddle to less talented players such as Chloe and Bowen. On the nights they actually remembered to use him, though, he did amazing. He has a delightful bizarre streak that I’d love to see more of, provided that they don’t fire him over the summer.

Chloe Fineman: Blecch!!! Chloe is just as annoying as ever. I’m glad other people are starting to catch on to her flaws, because it’s something that needs to be addressed. Her constant staring at the camera and chipmunk voices irritate me more than they amuse me. If she does come back, I hope she reins those annoying habits in.

Heidi Gardner: What the hell happened? Despite now being the senior member of the female cast, she has inexplicably taken a turn for the worse. There were so many sketches this year of Heidi playing a “wacky” new character, like that godawful mother character on Update. But even with these new annoying habits, I still like Heidi, and I wish she would go back to what she excels at, instead of trying to be a “star” like Kate McKinnon or, Heaven forbid, Kristen Wiig.

Punkie Johnson: Oh, that’s right, Punkie got promoted. I’d forgive you for not knowing that because she had the least amount of screen time of any cast member this season.

Ego Nwodim: After a couple of really strong years, this season was a bit of a step back of Ego. She returned to the “sassy black woman” cliche a little too often, and don’t get me started on those awful Lisa sketches.

Cecily Strong: In her final half-season, Cecily was even more out of place than ever, but she still got a shit ton of focus for some reason. In fact, she had more screen time than any of the four newbies. Let that sink in…

Kenan Thompson: This is the season where I finally reached my breaking point with Kenan’s eternal presence on the show. He had way too many sketches this season where the only joke is him yelling, to say nothing about his constant giggling and unprofessional moments. It’s gotten to the point where I cannot stand anything Kenan does anymore, and just wish he would leave already.

Bowen Yang: Ugh, I can’t believe how bad Bowen was this year. He gets way too much time to mug and act like a campy gay stereotype. Whatever happened to the more absurd stuff from his first couple seasons? I guess we’ve got no time for that now that the media is eating his inanimate object impressions up.

Featured Players

Marcello Hernandez: I really like this guy and I can’t wait to see what he has planned in Season 49. The fact that we have a Hispanic dude in the cast again really came in handy this year with all of the Hispanic hosts that appeared, and we usually got a sketch in those episodes where he plays off them in Spanish. Mad respect, bro. Hopefully we can get an Italian cast member hired next.

James Austin Johnson: James gets the award for the biggest growth arc this season. He moved away from doing nothing but impressions and started doing a lot of really solid character work, my personal favorite being the cucked father from the Travis Kelce episode. The only problem I have is the overuse of his Trump impression, and not a lot of use of his Biden. You know, the President?!? Why are there so few sketches about the fucking President in this season?!!?? But I digress.

Molly Kearney: Molly who? Despite making such a big deal in the press about hiring a non-binary cast member, SNL proceeds to treat them like shit and only cast them as fat male celebrities. 

Michael Longfellow: Out of all the newbies, this guy was the standout, despite not getting as much airtime as Marcello. He quickly found a niche for himself on Update doing commentaries, some as himself, and others as goofy oddball characters like the Statue of David. 

Sarah Sherman: Sarah is still a welcome presence on the show with her patented bizarre sketches, such as the woman with googly eyes and the news reporters with deformed mouths. She’s also unafraid to be different on Update with her Sarah News segments, which are better than Che and Jost at this point. However, I have noticed a troubling trend where they’ve been starting to put her in cheap drag roles as old men. 

Devon Walker: Essentially a replacement for Chris Redd, Walker sadly hasn’t gotten as much screen time as him. You generally only saw him when there was a black host. This is a shame, because I like Devon and want to see him succeed on the show. But, as we saw with Redd, he tends to suffer because Kenan automatically gets all the black roles.

Michael Che and Colin Jost: I am beyond sick of these two chuckleheads. They are the longest running Update anchors (for some reason), and they were only funny for about the first four years or so. Just let Sarah take over the desk!

Now it’s time to rank the episodes. This is gonna be hard because most of them were just blandly average.

Best episodes: Dave Chappelle/Black Star, Steve Martin, Martin Short/Brandi Carlile, Austin Butler/Lizzo, Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby, Travis Kelce/Kelsey Ballerini

Worst episodes: Megan Thee Stallion, Amy Schumer/Steve Lacey, Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith, Woody Harrelson/Jack White, Ana de Armas/Karol G

Now it’s time for us to rank the sketches. This should be easy…

Best sketches: Monologue (from Teller), New Cast Advice (from Gleeson), Headshots (from Gleeson), Eyes (from Gleeson), Drunk Uncle commentary (from Harlow), JNCO Longs (Cut), COVID (from Schumer), The Looker (from Schumer), Monologue (from Chappelle), Barber Shop (from Chappelle), both Sarah News commentaries, Black Heaven (from Chappelle), Election Night (from Chappelle), Big Boys (from Palmer), United Tingz of Aubrey (from Palmer), Kenan & Kelly (from Palmer), Monologue (from Martin), The Science Room (from Martin), A Christmas Carol (from Martin), Christmas Epiphany (from Butler), Jewish Elvis (from Butler), Plirts (from Butler), Blue Christmas (from Butler), Good Morning Today (from Jordan), Towel Guys (from Jordan), State Farm (from Jordan), Falling Down (from Jordan), Mario Kart (from Pascal), Protective Mom (from Pascal), Cologuard (from Harrelson), The Hippo (from Harrelson), American Girl Café (from Kelce), Self-Defense (from Kelce), Mama’s Funeral (from Kelce), Straight Male Friend (from Kelce), Family Meeting (from Kelce), School vs. School (from Ortega), Road Trip (from Ortega), Waffle House (from Ortega), James’ impressions commentary (from Ortega), Jingle Pitch (from Ortega), Drug Dealer (from Brunson), Street Eats (from Brunson), Monologue (from Shannon), Shannon 2K23 (from Shannon), American Girl (from de Armas), Spanish Class (from de Armas)

Worst sketches: Charmin Bears (from Teller), Grimace (from Teller), Blood Oath (from Gleeson), Hot Girl Hospital (from Megan Thee Stallion), Deer (from Megan Thee Stallion), Hole and Bussy commentary (from Megan Thee Stallion), Cold Open (from Harlow), Joker (from Harlow), Bartenders (from Harlow), Monologue (from Schumer), Jurors (from Schumer), Tammy the Trucker commentary (from Schumer), Jets Fans (from Schumer), WKTVN News (from Schumer), Cold Open (from Palmer), Ultrasound (from Palmer), Marzipan (from Butler), Miss America (from Plaza), Avatar (from Plaza), Party In Palm Springs (from Jordan), Waking Up (from Pascal), both Lisa from Temecula sketches, Jail Call (from Harrelson), Slingshot (from Harrelson), Beautiful Gym (from Harrelson), Garrett From Hinge (from Kelce), Too Hot To Handle (from Kelce), The Parent Trap (from Ortega), Midwife (from Brunson), Fart Baby (from Shannon), New Choreographer (from Shannon), Nails (from de Armas)

SNL Reviews: Ana de Armas/Karol G (4/

Cold Open: First Warm Day Of The Year Arrivals Show

Two reporters interview random people in Central Park.

• A variation on that Halloween red carpet sketch from the Jack Harlow episode.

• Perfect casting of James and Michael as pervs. For some reason, this is the only time we see James tonight, which is a sad way for his great season to end.

• Nice pratfall from Molly, continuing the Chris Farley similarities. We’ll get another example of this later on…

• Ego gets some good use out of her usual “bitch” routine. 

• Kenan once again comes off as out of place in this sketch with his overused shouting shtick.

• Nice fakeout with the LFNY at the end.

• I didn’t think this was as good as the Halloween version. I guess I need to be a regular visitor of Central Park to get it.

Monologue 

Ana talks about learning English and reflects on her amazing year.

• I must admit that I have no idea who this gal is.

• Seems like we’ve had a lot of Hispanic hosts lately. In fact, for the first time, both the host and the musical guest are Hispanic.

• I wonder if her story about learning English from Friends is true, or if it’s just some sweet NBC synergy.

• Not too much to say about this monologue, but I found her charming enough.

Sketch: The Dome

Matt Schatt competes on a game show with his new wife.

• For once, the game show host has a normal name, instead of a “funny” pun or sexual reference.

• Sudden return of Matt Schatt for the first time since Season 45. 

• No matter how many different settings this guy appears in, the joke is always the same: the host of some show (usually Kenan) is puzzled as to why someone as lame as Matt Schatt is married to a hot woman.

• This probably goes without saying, but Kenan has reached the point where I am actively rooting against him in sketches. That line he screams about Matt eating dog food was particularly cringeworthy.

• No comment on the reveal of Matt’s many nipples. I also definitely could have gone without seeing Kenan pinch one of them.

• This sketch was thankfully kept at a short enough length. Can you imagine how much lower I’d be ranking it if it was ten minutes of Kenan screaming?

Film: American Girl

American Girl dolls travel to the present day.

• What’s with all the American Girl product placement lately?

• The reveal of Ego’s slave girl character was good for a laugh.

• Nice awkward silence after Ego reveals that she doesn’t know when her birthday is because she’s a slave.

• Sarah: “Look what I can do!” *coughs up blood, and the scene cuts to her getting covered by a tarp*

• I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying this despite not being a little girl. 

• We end on a funny callback to Sarah’s death from earlier when Heidi announces that she’s going to cure cholera, before coughing up blood herself, and getting thrown out the back of the wagon.

Sketch: Recording Session

Two voice actors help a music producer with his new album.

• Uh-oh, there’s Kenan again. I hope we’re not in for more shouty shenanigans.

• I’m about halfway through this, and Kenan’s goofy voice shtick is ruining this otherwise blandly average sketch.

• Between the American Girl film and this, Ego’s been having one of her best nights in quite a while.

• Not too much to say about this one, other than the fact that I’m extremely tired of Kenan.

Sketch: Spanish Class

Spanish class gets interrupted by two new students. 

• The exterior shot of the school looks very familiar. I can’t remember where I’ve seen that school before, but it must have been in some movie or sitcom.

• Mikey’s hilariously badly-pronounced Spanish immediately got a laugh from me.

• Marcello, naturally, has a big role in this sketch. He has pretty good chemistry with Ana.

• As good as Marcello and Ana are, Mikey steals the show with his awkward teacher character. 

• Nice appearance from Karol G at the end, and even the cliche dance party that follows is pretty fun.

Please Don’t Destroy: Hangxiety

The guys overthink everything they did at the SNL afterparty.

• Sixth episode in a row with PDD.

• There appears to be a cue card from Megan Thee Stallion’s episode on Ben’s desk.

• Nice interaction between Ben and Michael.

• I love the scene of John getting hit in the eye by his phone.

• I’m surprised it’s taken this long for Ego to show up in one of these shorts.

• Nice ending with Mikey chastising the three for their rude behavior at the party, only for the camera to reveal that he has no pants on.

• I know I had very little to say about that one, but I think I‘m finally burned out on these guys. If they come back for the next season, try to space out their appearances more.

Musical Performance: “Mientras Me Curo del Cora”

Weekend Update (featuring Funky Kong, Genesis Fry, and Molly Kearney)

• Can Che go through a single Update without laughing at his awful jokes? That Clarence Thomas joke was particularly bad. And it’s the second episode in a row to have a bad Clarence Thomas joke.

• Oh shit, now it’s time for another horrendous Kenan commentary. Here, he’s playing Donkey Kong’s relative, Funky Kong, in yet another awful example of Mario movie shilling. 

• Am I the only one who thinks it’s kind of offensive that they’re having Kenan play a monkey?

• I could really do without the return of the Jean K. Jean dance break routine.

• So far, this commentary is pure cancer. I’ve said it time and time again this season, but Kenan needs to get the fuck off the show.

• What in the world is the “Monkey Kong/he’s a donkey” joke about? Did he flub a line and they just decided to leave it in to be “funny”?

• What frustrates me the most is all of the idiots in the comment section eating this shit up. Should I start compiling retarded fan comments on this blog?

• Overall, one of the worst commentaries I’ve ever seen.

• Ah, thank goodness Sarah is here to liven things up, playing a meditation guru named Genesis Fry.

• This really seems like a character that Heidi would play, but Sarah is making it work.

• We’ve gone back to the “roasting Colin” routine. I always keep expecting it to get old, but it never does. Why is that?

• Sarah briefly corpses during her line about nobody at the NBC Store recognizing who Colin is.

• Not the funniest Sarah commentary, but she’s the only person in the world who could make this material work.

• Now, Molly finally gets a commentary as themself, after being forced to play another fat guy a few episodes ago. 

• After being pleased about how SNL has wisely not made it a big deal that Molly is non-binary, they unfortunately throw that out the window with the “super special” introduction they give Molly here, where they get lowered onto the stage with wires.

• While I certainly admire the message Molly is trying to convey here, is a comedy show the right place for it? This gets me thinking about what some other reviewers have accused SNL of doing lately, by using certain female performers (like Kate, Cecily, etc.) as a “security blanket” for the audience. 

• Lots of cringeworthy clapter here. But Molly’s eternal likability is making it work.

• Molly rising from the desk with the help of wires is very Bennett Brauer-esque, and yet another example of Molly’s similarities to Chris Farley.

Sketch: Lisa From Temecula

Lisa disrupts a wedding her sister invited her to.

• Fuck, not this again. The first installment with Pedro Pascal was only a “hit” because of all the breaking. As we’ve seen in the past with Debbie Downer, trying to make a sketch recurring solely because of breaking will spell disaster. 

• I like all the airtime Molly has gotten in this episode.

• This sketch is so far just a lame rewrite of the already lame original, but she’s got a salad this time instead of a steak. Such a big difference!!!

• I kinda laughed at the line about the piece of meat looking like a Fruit Roll-Up.

• Ana is starting to smirk a little bit, but this sketch has thankfully not degenerated the same way the original one did.

• Mikey has been in almost every sketch tonight. Here he has one of his typical reacting/explaining roles.

• Ego’s line about being gay is just a worse version of her line about being black in the first one.

• Overall, this sketch is a perfect example of why certain characters should never become recurring.

Sketch: Acting School for Dogs

An acting school for good looking dogs.

• Are you kidding me, SNL? Is this Season 45 again?

• No comment on Chloe and Ana’s stupid “cute” faces.

• Also, Chloe’s name is “Donna Colonoscopini”. Can you guess who wrote this???

• The first dog they show off is already refusing to cooperate.

• That pug is not having any of Chloe’s antics.

• I have nothing to say about the awkward closeup of the dog saying “Le woof”.

• Usually these “cute animal” sketches elicit some kind of response from me, but I’ve lost all interest in them. The second half of this episode is pure murder so far.

Musical Performance: “Tus Gafitas”

Sketch: Nails

A trip to the nail salon doesn’t go as planned.

• Please kill me. Another “SILLEEE” Bowen showcase? 

• A big ol’ yawn from me at the reveal of Bowen’s long nails.

• The tape recorder bit fell flat.

• Now all of a sudden we get a random Twilight reference. What is the point?

• And this bland, underwritten sketch is how they end the season. I know this wasn’t supposed to be the finale, but it still sucks that we end things on a horrible Bowen vanity piece.

Final thoughts: The season comes to a premature end with a huge thud. The first half of the episode was merely average, but the post-Update half was a nightmare. Ana de Armas was an okay host. Not too special, but not awful.

Best sketches: American Girl, Spanish Class

Worst sketches: Funky Kong commentary, Lisa From Temecula, Nails

Stay tuned for my final overview of Season 48!!!

SNL Reviews: Molly Shannon/Jonas Brothers (4/8/23)

 Cold Open

Donald Trump invades the Last Supper to ramble on about unimportant shit.

• Nice recreation of the iconic Last Supper painting.

• I’m fairly certain that Jesus had no Chinese followers, so I don’t know why Bowen is here. 

• The casting of Molly as Judas is yet another example of their unfortunate typecasting as fat guys, but Judas’ nonverbal reaction to being dissed by Jesus is hilarious.

• All of a sudden, this is interrupted by yet another fucking appearance from Trump. UGGGHHHHH!!!! Why’d they have to do that? I kinda liked where this was heading before the interruption.

• Yawn, more of the same old tired shtick from JAJ as Trump. I don’t care how dead on the voice is. If they never switch things up, then why are we still doing these?

Monologue 

Molly Shannon talks about her new book and shares advice she learned from her dad.

• Feels weird to see Molly Shannon on the show in 2023, for some reason.

• This suddenly becomes a musical number about a minute in. Normally, I’d complain about this overused cliche, but we honestly haven’t had that many this season, so I’ll allow it.

• Ah, the two Mollys meet. I was hoping they would.

• Molly K: “Well, I’m not really in the show much tonight, so, I’m interrupting your song to get more camera time.”

• Funny brief appearance from Lorne, along with a random Martin Short cameo, because why the hell not?

• Nice touch at the end of the song with Molly shouting “Superstar!” like Mary Katherine Gallagher, who we are thankfully not getting an appearance from later. 

Sketch: Vincent’s Valets

A valet expert trains a group of beginners.

• Andrew has surprisingly gotten quite a bit of airtime so far.

• Sarah plays yet another old lady.

• James is pulling his character off flawlessly! His amazing season continues to get better.

• Kenan’s yelling antics are extremely out of place here. He really really needs to leave soon.

• Shannon’s character is very Kristen Wiig-esque. At least I think so, anyway. Her random “I’m kidding” interjections remind me of that awful Judy Grimes character Kristen plays.

• And because Kenan’s first outburst was apparently so funny, he does it again! Ugh.

Film: Selective Startage

Hack comedienne Jeannie Darcy has a new Netflix special.

• This character from Molly’s final season returns. 

• Good, corny joke about TikTok. I love the shot of the bored audience immediately after that.

• WTF?!!?? Ego is playing Arsenio Hall? Why couldn’t they let Devon Walker do it? It doesn’t help that Ego is just speaking in her normal voice without even trying to sound masculine.

• The scene with Punkie as Wanda Sykes being informed that Darcy isn’t a lesbian is pretty funny.

• Horrible Sarah Silverman “impression” from Chloe.

• While it was good to see this character again, I could have done without all the cutaways to other comedians.

Sketch: Fart Baby

A pregnant woman keeps farting.

• Bowen’s brief Marlon Brando impression was surprisingly good.

• Aaaand there goes the first fart of the sketch. I see James Anderson’s old scripts are still occasionally being used.

• Twenty minutes later, the only joke in this sketch is farting. That’s hilarious, right, guys? Guys??? Why are you all changing the channel?

Please Don’t Destroy: Molly Shannon 2K23

The guys show Molly a video game based on her life.

• Fifth episode in a row with one of these? Don’t get me wrong, I love these guys, but I wish they’d get a break.

• I absolutely love this concept.

• Funny “side quest” where Molly is on The Tonight Show making Jimmy Fallon crack up.

• I like how choosing the option to go on a tirade about cancel culture causes you to lose all of your points.

• Nice use of Molly’s Season 20 picture for the cover of “Shannon ‘95”.

• Even the brief glimpse of “Super Mario Batali” made me laugh.

• Just the fact that they have a level where she has to give her daughter the “birds and bees” talk is hilarious.

• Molly, in the game: “I’m gonna kill you, bitch!”

• They also get in some nice jabs at EA, when they say that the game has a few glitches, but they’ve heard that the next game is supposed to be flawless.

• I like the Mary Katherine Gallagher references in Molly’s rap, which once again makes me happy that she’s not going to be appearing tonight.

• Despite being overused, these PDD shorts are still reliably funny.

Sketch: The Play

A man watches a play that his girlfriend wrote.

• Nice to see Devon with a big role, but I wish it wasn’t a typical reacting role.

• Making me even more worried is that Jimmy Fowlie is credited as a writer here.

• *Bowen shows up as an annoying character* Yep, this is Fowlie, alright.

• We get our obligatory Nick Jonas sketch appearance. 

• I have not laughed at a single thing in this sketch so far.

• And there goes Kenan overacting yet again. Kenan, please get the fuck off of the show.

• Overall, blecch. 

Musical Performance: “Waffle House”

• I ain’t goin’ to no house made from no waffles! BEEEEEF JELLY!

Weekend Update (featuring Jafar, Angel Reese, and Co-Worker Who’s Extremely Busy Doing Seemingly Nothing)

• Wow, I have never heard a joke where they imply that Clarence Thomas is a rapist before! Have you????

• Bowen debuts his latest gay stereotype character, this time playing Jafar from Aladdin. All I will tell you is that it sucks like every other commentary of his.

• Thank goodness Punkie is here to liven things up. She plays LSU basketball star Angel Reese, who I’ve never heard of.

• While I have no knowledge of what Punkie is talking about in this commentary, she’s giving it her all as usual.

• Punkie, plugging a sponsor: “Garden Gnomes: Man, get yo little ass out my face!”

• Heidi introduces yet another annoying character, continuing the godawful season she’s been having. The long, overly-specific name this character has makes me worried that she’s going to become recurring.

• This character is no different than any other character Heidi has debuted on Update over the last season and a half. Is there any wonder why her detractors often call her “Vocal Fry: The Person”?

Sketch: Drug Commercial

Shenanigans are afoot on the set of a menopause commercial.

• Andrew’s great night continues!

• Another sketch that has both of the Mollys in it!

• The cast is pulling off these dance moves pretty well, but I’m not exactly laughing so far.

• All of a sudden, this sketch is interrupted by Kenan doing his tired old shtick for the millionth time. Have I made it clear this season that I absolutely hate Kenan now?

• No comment on him mispronouncing the product’s name as “Vegeta”.

• Yet ANOTHER sketch that ends with a random dance number. 

• Unfortunately, the writers’ guide on Reddit that I use for reference doesn’t say who is behind this awful sketch. The use of Kenan and the “silly” word substitutions make me think that Kent Sublette had something to do with it.

Musical Performance: “Walls”

Sketch: New Choreographer

The Jonas Brothers decide to switch things up by hiring an old familiar face as their new choreographer.

• I knew I was in for a rough sketch as soon as Kenan started talking in that dopey voice.

• They’re talking about a choreographer. Uh-oh, I know exactly which dreaded character is about to show up…

• Ugh, there she is. Sally O’Malley has returned. 

• Is Kenan able to go through a sketch anymore without looking like he’s about to die laughing? 

• I’m glad the audience is enjoying this, because I’m not.

• The Jonas Brothers then appear, and LOL!!! They’ve got the same outfit as Sally O’Malley!!!! Ugh…

• As if this couldn’t get any worse, we have a hacky, overused newspaper headline ending. 

• Overall, not a single laugh from me. I guess I should be counting my blessings, though, because it could’ve been worse. At least there was no Helen Madden in this episode.

Fake Ad: CNZen

An ASMR version of CNN that lulls liberals to sleep with details of Trump’s arrest.

• I liked Ego’s line about liberals basing their entire personalities on hating Donald Trump.

• Ummm, I don’t really buy Longfellow as Anderson Cooper. Alex Moffat was much better in that role.

• Sarah in drag yet again?!!?? This time as Wolf Blitzer??? Why couldn’t they let JAJ do it?

• Oh, that’s why, he’s playing Lindsay Graham.

• This was kind of boring, but I liked what it was going for.

Final thoughts: A bit of a hard episode to figure out. There was some good stuff, some average stuff, and a lot of really awful stuff. Molly Shannon, to her credit, fit right back into the cast, but there’s not a lot she could’ve done to save shit like that awful fart sketch.

Best sketches: Monologue, Molly Shannon 2K23

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Fart Baby, The Play, Heidi’s commentary, Drug Commercial, New Choreographer

Next review: The season comes to a premature end with Ana de Armas/Karol G